The Great Inca Rebellion
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Student Handout
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Bones: Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a severe loss of mineral from the bone.
The cortex, which contains most of the bone's minerals, becomes very thin
and fractures easily. It seems to be associated with aging and with
malnutrition. In modern Western populations osteoporosis is a common problem in
women after menopause and in men after they reach age 60. In some societies
where nutrition is poor osteoporosis is a serious problem for young women.
Childbearing apparently drains the mineral reserves from their bones. In
addition, young women who become very thin—to the point where their body
fat drops below a certain level—stop producing the hormone estrogen that
plays a role in bone turnover; these young women may later exhibit
osteoporosis. Table 1 shows the number and percentages of individuals who
suffered from osteoporosis.
Procedure
Review and graph the data. Analyze the data for what it reveals about the health
of each community. Use the information on this page and what you have
learned from the data to answer the questions listed.
Table 1:
Osteoporosis
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Indian
Knoll
|
Hardin Village
|
|
Ages
|
Males
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Females
|
Males
|
Females
|
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
|
17–29
|
1 |
25 |
3.8
|
1 |
27 |
3.6
|
3 |
24 |
11.1
|
3 |
23 |
11.5
|
|
30–39
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0 |
19 |
0
|
0 |
10 |
0
|
6 |
13 |
31.6
|
2 |
12 |
14.3
|
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40+
|
5 |
41 |
10.9
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16 |
14 |
53.3
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7 |
14 |
33.3
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16 |
17 |
48.5
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Questions
Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.
How is osteoporosis distributed by age and sex in the
two groups? How do young women in Indian Knoll compare with young
women in Hardin Village? What conclusions could you draw from this data and the
information you have been given? Write down any other observations you have about this
data set.
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